2020 Olsen, Eric Week 5- Ofelia Esparza

Ofelia Esparza is a master altarista who had honed her craft through years of personal work honoring the dead in her family. In her presentation, Ofelia first and foremost recognized how the spirit of past relatives and family members like her Mother and Great Grandmother are embedded within all her works. She laughed and constantly pointed out how her work carries on their traditions and memory to the next generations and is the source of her inspiration. As an artist whose family is integral to her art, Ofelia’s process refutes the idea of the lone genius which is the common narrative in European art history. Every aspect of Ofelia’s work is brought directly out of her life, her experiences, and her Chicana community. The altars she creates brings together images of family from herself and community members and incorporates sacred objects together with carnations, flowers, and other important symbols. Throughout her presentation, Ofelia’s grew as an artist in  community spaces and in her lifelong neighborhood of East L.A., particularly at Self-Help Graphics. She talked about discovering new modes of creating art there such as silk screen printing and her decades long involvement in the Dia de Los Muertos celebration in East L.A. I think Ofelia is a treasure to the Chicana community not only because she is a master altar maker but because she shares her craft with so many and carries on the traditions and memory of generations past. I was so honored to hear her speak about herself and her family and how her work has transformed her life.